Week 3: Ethics in Gaming

Co-Author Anthony Morrell

Gaming has so many layers of ethics that even listing only the most significant would fill up this article. That said, we will attempt to focus on the most pertinent elements.

First, the low hanging fruit. The article on video game violence, using GTAV as a scapegoat for deviant behavior in gamers, is ridiculous. As an art form, there is some social expectation that gaming express itself in a way that is appropriate, with the intent of pursuing cultural progress, addressing pressing social issues, and so on. But it also has the freedom of expression that any piece of art that is not actively working against society’s goals is entitled to. And in our experience, most games are either surprisingly moral, or making a statement in rejecting morality in the same way that a book or film might. GTA is also a particularly ridiculous choice of a target considering it’s extensive history of being legally vindicated against would-be attacks on it’s validity. Unfortunately, research on this topic has been so tumultuous that almost all findings from before the past few years have shown themselves to have strong biases towards reaching their desired conclusions. What promises to be a good journal on the issue is here, but wasn’t freely available. However, an excellent breakdown of the various issues associated with the issue can be found in the first few pages of this journal article by Christopher J. Ferguson, who, in the process of analyzing the legal issues surrounding gaming, very adequately summarizes many of the complications surrounding even our existing research data. The conclusions trend towards newer, more balanced research and research approaches showing violent video games to be a non-issue; merely a convenient, easily politicized scapegoat.

What is far more interesting (and valid) is criticizing games that misuse their platform in more malicious ways, such as the issue of consumer conditioning addressed in the TEDx talk, or in the usage of known addictive elements which are outside current consumer protection laws. While some game developers and marketers might be tempted to exploit these psychological principles to boost play time and profits, these practices are clearly unethical. However, the most tragic thing about this situation is that the ethics of using psychological research to manipulate gamers doesn’t change its effectiveness, and therefore its usage. Even if the video game industry were not to hire a single psychologist, simply improving games by trial and error will over time generate the same results, or even more effective techniques that themselves push the boundaries of what dedicated research has produced.

Gaming is a place where consumers are in many ways at their most vulnerable. They are susceptible to unethical practices and often lack legal protection against them. Gaming is a rapidly growing and evolving industry, and in many ways our legal system has not yet caught up. This echoes the issues the tech industry at large is facing, and while video games may seem like only an insignificant microcosm, we believe that gaming is special in the way it is capable of destroying lives by misusing its power over what people want; by getting inside their homes, their recreation space, and their own heads.